Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.
Parallel translations
- WEB An unfriendly man pursues selfishness, and defies all sound judgment.
- BSB He who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound judgment.
- NKJV A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment.
- NASB One who separates himself seeks his own desire; He quarrels against all sound wisdom.
- NLT Unfriendly people care only about themselves; they lash out at common sense.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The person who isolates himself pursues selfish desire and rejects sound wisdom. Willful separation from others reflects a self-centered heart.
Overview
This proverb warns against one who cuts himself off from community to follow his own cravings, quarreling with all wise counsel. The translation is debated, but the main thrust commends accountability and warns against prideful isolation. God designed His people for fellowship (Heb. 10:24-25), and the church embodies this in Christ, where believers grow together rather than in solitary self-will.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Eph 5:15–17See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
- Prov 20:3It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.
- Prov 2:1–6My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
- Jer 15:17I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation.
- Prov 24:21My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:
- Jude 1:19These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
- Mark 1:35And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
- Prov 14:10The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.
- Prov 26:17He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.
- Exod 33:16For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
- Isa 26:8–9Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
- Matt 13:44Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
- Prov 17:14The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.
- Mark 4:11And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
- Rom 1:1Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
- Prov 20:19He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.
- Matt 13:11He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
- 2 Cor 6:17Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
- Zech 7:3And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 18:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.